Join 9 Queens and former Women’s World Champion and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk for the 5th Annual “Chess Fiesta” on Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2012) from 2-5 pm at the Hotel Congress (311 E Congress St, Tucson, Arizona). This year’s Chess Fest will feature a simultaneous chess exhibition where Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk will play multiple games at a time against Tucsonans interested in challenging the Grandmaster. Grandmaster Kosteniuk will also be the recipient of the 9 Queens Award given to a player who embodies the mission of 9 Queens and our commitment to empowering under-served and under-represented populations.

This year’s “Readymade” Chess Fest will have something for everyone, regardless of age or chess experience. For those more artistically inclined, Chess Fest will pay homage to Marcel Duchamp an artist and avid chess player known for selecting ordinary manufactured objects and using them to create “readymade” pieces of art. Participants can visit the arts and crafts station to create their own “readymade” chess sets and crowns. Other activities include: beginner chess lessons, pick-up chess games, face painting, chess simultaneous exhibits.

The Extreme Chess Championships is a made for TV single-elimination knockout that showcases the drama of chess competition and the diversity of its top practitioners. Watch the “Battle of the Sexes” episode below, which features Philly based law student and chess master Alisa Melekhina, who also teaches at 9 Queens academies.

In celebration of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, the nonprofit organization 9 Queens is partnering with Goddesschess to award $1000 to the winner of the “Fighting Chess” award. Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk, reigning Women’s World Chess Champion, will select the prizewinner whose performance in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship exudes determination, confidence and character under pressure. The prize will be announced on July 20th during the tournament awards ceremony at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis.

“I’m so glad that 9 Queens and Goddesschess are promoting and celebrating fighting spirit among female chess players, and look forward to enjoying the beautiful and skillful display of chess mastery at the US Women’s Chess Championships,” said Grandmaster Kosteniuk.

Both 9 Queens and Goddesschess are organizations dedicated to encouraging more women and girls to play chess. Since 2007, Goddesschess has been awarding prizes to players in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. Last year Anna Zatonskih won the Fighting Chess Award for her commitment to keep fighting even after she clinched the tournament with her astounding 8.5/9 score.

“As part of Goddesschess’ commitment to encouraging more girls and women to play chess, we are extremely pleased in 2010 to partner with 9 Queens to sponsor a Fighting Chess Award of $1,000, the largest award yet, in keeping with the prestige of this event,” explained Jan Newton official spokesperson from Goddesschess.

In addition to the Fighting Chess Award, 9 Queens will also award a $400 scholarship to the best performing student under 25 in the tournament. The US Women’s Chess Championship is taking place July 9-19 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Visit uschesschamps.com for more details, and to listen daily to live commentary by GM Ben Finegold and 9 Queens co-founder Jen Shahade.

Lucky us! 9 Queens was selected as one of three nonprofits to benefit from this year’s Battle of the Ads contest hosted by the American Ad Federation of Tucson. We had the privilege of working with a talented team of designers and writers from Madden Media to create the brand new Chess Fest poster for 2010. The poster was presented at a luncheon on January 19 where Madden was honored with the Bull’s Eye Award for Targeted Marketing.

The poster and accompanying postcard are two of my all-time favorite chess posters. The folks at Madden did an amazing job not only capturing the spirit of Chess Fest, but also coming up with creative, fun, and kid-friendly descriptions of event.

Thank you so much to everyone at Madden for the amazing work and to the American AD Federation for this fantastic opportunity!